In 2012, voters in Colorado shocked the political establishment by making the use of marijuana legal for anyone in the state twenty-one years of age or older. In the wake of that unprecedented victory, nationally recognized marijuana-policy experts Steve Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason Tvert revisit the "Marijuana Is Safer" message that contributed to the campaign’s success--as the first edition of this book predicted it would in 2009. In this updated and expanded edition, the authors include a new chapter on the victory in Colorado and updates on a growing mountain of research that supports their position.

Through an objective examination of marijuana and alcohol, and the laws and social practices that steer people toward the latter, the authors pose a simple yet rarely considered question: Why do we punish adults who make the rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol? For those unfamiliar with marijuana, Marijuana Is Safer provides an introduction to the cannabis plant and its effects on the user, and debunks some of the government's most frequently cited marijuana myths.

More importantly, for the millions of Americans who want to advance the cause of marijuana policy reform--or simply want to defend their own personal, safer choice--this book provides the talking points and detailed information needed to make persuasive arguments to friends, family, coworkers, elected officials and, of course, future voters.

REVIEWS AND PRAISE

Kirkus Reviews-

"It’s not rocket science: Alcohol puts more people in the hospital or graveyard than marijuana. If our laws are meant to prevent harm to others, then what harm are we trying to prevent by the illegalization of marijuana? In fact, making marijuana illegal absurdly inflates its value and encourages violent crime to command its distribution. The sources of marijuana’s illegalization are vile, rather easily traceable to bigoted attitudes toward Mexicans and African-Americans. Certainly, there are moments in this otherwise thoughtful and policy-driven initiative that veer perilously close to demonizing alcohol in the same manner that marijuana has been demonized. Regardless, the authors’ argument that marijuana is the safer of the two recreational intoxicants is rock solid, and one can see that this everyday, common-sense comparison would be an effective tool in changing public perception, manipulated as it has been by everyone from Nancy Reagan to the great brewing concerns. The authors end with a workable proposal for a grass-roots response, complete with talking points and ready answers to FAQs, to bring the issue to the ballot. A well-designed initiative to redress the villainization of marijuana."

Starred Review, Booklist-
"If Americans could legally smoke marijuana, would it reduce alcohol abuse and the attendant violence and aggression that go along with it? That is a social experiment worth trying, according to pot-decriminalization advocates Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason Tvert. At this pivotal time of a national shift in thinking on the double standard in law and social attitudes, the authors offer a commonsense perspective on the relative threat of and social response to marijuana versus alcohol. After detailing how the government, media, and beer and liquor companies often collude in demonizing pot and drive Americans to drink instead, the authors cite statistics and combat myths regarding marijuana, from the hysteria of the film Reefer Madness to the assertion that legalization will only sanction another vice. Focusing on the successful legalization campaign in Colorado, the authors concede they have an uphill battle in their effort to educate the public on the comparisons between pot and alcohol as they assert the positive benefits of legalization, taxation, and regulation of pot, including more revenue, less crime and mayhem, and fewer health problems. Given the changing political landscape and widespread use of pot, whatever a reader’s perspective on marijuana, this book is a well-researched, thoughtful look at a controversial issue."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Fox

Steve Fox, principal at Marijuana Strategies, is one of the leading figures in the movement to create a legal, regulated marijuana market in the United States. He is a cofounder of the National Cannabis Industry Association, which currently represents more than 250 state-legal businesses, and serves as a strategic advisor to the organization. While at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) from 2002—2013, Steve lobbied Congress and guided numerous ballot-initiative campaigns, including the Amendment 64 campaign in Colorado, which made personal possession and cultivation of marijuana legal, while establishing a regulated market for adults. In 2005, Steve conceptualized and cofounded (with coauthor Mason Tvert) Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) in Colorado for the express purpose of educating the public about the fact that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. The goal, eventually realized, was to change the mindset of voters in order to make marijuana legal through a ballot initiative. He now serves as an independent consultant, advising individuals and organizations on marijuana policy- and industry-related issues.

CONNECT WITH THIS AUTHOR

Paul Armentano

Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and the NORML Foundation. A recognized national expert in marijuana policy, health, and pharmacology, he has spoken at dozens of national conferences and legal seminars and has testified before state legislatures and federal agencies. He appears regularly on Drew Pinsky's nationally syndicated radio show, Dr. Drew Live, and his work has appeared in over 500 publications. Armentano is the 2008 recipient of the Project Censored Real News Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism. He currently lives in California with his wife and son. You can visit the NORML Foundation online at norml.org.

CONNECT WITH THIS AUTHOR

Mason Tvert

Mason Tvert is the cofounder and executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) and the SAFER Voter Education Fund. He appears frequently in the news and travels the country promoting the "Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol" message. He resides in Denver, where he serves on the city's Marijuana Policy Review Panel, appointed by Mayor John W. Hickenlooper. Read Mason's blog on The Huffington Post at www.huffingtonpost.com/mason-tvert.

Truthout Interviews with Paul Armentano on Marijuana, Alcohol, and the Law

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Remember the days of longing for the hands on the classroom clock to move faster? Most of us would say we love to learn, but we hated school. Why is that? What happens to creativity and individuality as we pass through the educational system?

Walking on Water is a startling and provocative look at teaching, writing, creativity, and life by a writer increasingly recognized for his passionate and articulate critique of modern civilization. This time Derrick Jensen brings us into his classroom--whether college or maximum security prison--where he teaches writing. He reveals how schools perpetuate the great illusion that happiness lies outside of ourselves and that learning to please and submit to those in power makes us into lifelong clock-watchers. As a writing teacher Jensen guides his students out of the confines of traditional education to find their own voices, freedom, and creativity.

Jensen's great gift as a teacher and writer is to bring us fully alive at the same moment he is making us confront our losses and count our defeats. It is at the center of Walking on Water, a book that is not only a hard-hitting and sometimes scathing critique of our current educational system and not only a hands-on method for learning how to write, but, like Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, a lesson on how to connect to the core of our creative selves, to the miracle of waking up and arriving breathless (but with dry feet) on the far shore.

Polls show that the majority of Americans oppose recent US wars and Wall Street bailouts, yet most remain passive and appear resigned to powerlessness. In Get Up, Stand Up, Bruce Levine offers an original and convincing explanation for this passivity. Many Americans are deeply demoralized by decades of oppressive elitism, and they have lost confidence that genuine democracy is possible. Drawing on phenomena such as learned helplessness, the abuse syndrome, and other psychological principles and techniques for pacifying a population, Levine explains how major US institutions have created fatalism. When such fatalism and defeatism set in, truths about social and economic injustices are not enough to set people free.

However, the situation is not truly hopeless. History tells us that for democratic movements to get off the ground, individuals must recover self-respect, and a people must regain collective confidence that they can succeed at eliminating top-down controls. Get Up, Stand Up describes how we can recover dignity, confidence, and the energy to do battle. That achievement fills in the missing piece that, until now, has undermined so many efforts to energize genuine democracy.

Get Up, Stand Up details those strategies and tactics that oppressed peoples have successfully employed to gain power. We the People can unite, gain strength, wisely do battle, and wrest power away from the ruling corporate-government partnership (the "corporatocracy"). Get Up, Stand Up explains how.

Now Jeffrey M. Smith's best-selling book is paired with a new DVD and CD set that shows how genetically modified organisms (GMOs) put our health and environment at risk. This set will impact consumer perceptions and buying habits.

Shocking research results, inadequate regulations and warnings from eminent scientists explain why GM foods are dangerous and should be removed from kids' meals. The dramatic story of how student behavior in a Wisconsin school was transformed with a healthy diet provides added motivation to make a change. It features Jeffrey Smith and more than a dozen scientists and experts.

Audio CD: You're Eating WHAT?

Jeffrey Smith's riveting one-hour talk.

Seeds of Deception

This is the top-rated, best selling book in the world on GM foods. Smith exposes the serious health dangers of genetically modified foods and the corporate cover-up. A fast-paced thriller of industry manipulation and political collusion, combined with lucid descriptions of genetic engineering and guidance on how to protect yourself and your family.

Ready, Set, Talk! will help anyone—from the novice activist to the sophisticated public relations professional—develop a talk media message, prepare a campaign, and roll it out. The authors demystify the process of identifying and analyzing potential media targets and opportunities, and show readers how to develop media events for maximum attention and continuing exposure on talk media.

Rich with real-life examples and anecdotes on how to—and how not to—execute a successful campaign, this revealing media manual pulls no punches. Ratner and Scarrah analyze the conservatives' success on talk media and explain how anyone can do the same, not just by creating their own show, but also by going head to head with others on highly successful existing shows.

Ready, Set, Talk! is a roadmap to putting the internet, podcasting, and videocasting to work for ideas, causes, and candidates. It includes guidelines for print and television interviews; a step-by-step guide to selecting, booking, and preparing a spokesperson; a comprehensive idiot-proof promotional checklist; and advice on how to manage crises in the media.